Grantmaking

Who We Fund
How We Fund
Types of Funding
Funding Cycles and Proposal Deadlines
Next Grantwriting Workshop
How to Apply
Wolcott Family Foundation

Who We Fund

Chinook funds organizations that work to create a just, equitable and free society by transforming oppressive and discriminatory political, social and economic systems and institutions. In other words, Chinook funds organizations working for social change by challenging the root causes of oppression, rather than treating the symptoms. Chinook believes the root causes of our most serious social problems include systemic and institutionalized racism, sexism, heterosexism, classism, ableism and ageism. We identify social change as efforts that strive to include these key elements:

• Community-wide: The change will affect all members of a community. A community could be, for example, all immigrants, all transgender people, all Latinos, or all low-income people in a particular neighborhood

• Constituent-led: The work is driven by the people it affects

• Lasting Effect: The work affects not just people today but members of the community in future generations. Generally, this means the work is directed toward permanently changing a system, institution, or policy

• Be based in communities of color, low-income communities or other historically oppressed communities

• Be constituent-led: leadership and decision-making reflects the whole constituency

• Demonstrate that the work can lead to permanent progressive change for their community

• Be based in Colorado (with possible exceptions made for regional indigenous groups)

• Have an annual budget of $350,000 or less

How we Fund

Gandhi once said, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." Chinook seeks to create a just world not only by funding social change organizations, but also by how we fund them. A diverse group of activists makes all of our funding decisions. This means that Chinook is led by, and accountable to, the communities we serve - just as we require our grantees to be. And it means our committee is ideally suited to ensure that Chinook funnels its resources to the most effective, cutting edge social change organizations in the state.

Our Grantmaking Committee first spends a full day discussing proposals and deciding which organizations to visit. Then committee members conduct site visits with applicant organizations. Finally, the whole committee convenes again to decide which organizations to fund. In all its deliberations, the Committee is bent towards determining which organizations will transform society into a just and free environment for all people.

Types of Funding

 The Established Fund supports groups with grants of up to $10,000. Any group may apply for a grant in this pool. The competition is stiff, because this pool includes groups that have been working successfully on social justice issues for years. Groups may apply for General Operating or Program support.

The Start-Up Fund was created to support organizations just beginning their work. Groups applying for grants from this fund will, therefore, not be competing with highly experienced organizations. Grants of up to $4,000 are awarded. To apply from the Start-Up Fund, an organization must be four years old or younger. Groups can receive funding from the Start-Up funding up to two times. Groups may apply for General Operating or Program support

Technical Assistance: Groups which receive Chinook funding become eligible to apply for up to $1,000 in technical assistance. Application must be made immediately upon receiving the Established or Start-Up grant. TA Grants are intended to assist groups in building skills and infrastructure that will support the sustainability of the organization. Please call us at 303-455-6905 for more information about TA grants or click here for guideline information.

Critical Response Grants of up to $1,000 are made to enable groups to respond quickly to unforeseen, developing or crisis public events. They are not made to alleviate financial difficulties or to support conferences or other planned activities. You do not need to be a Chinook grantee to apply, but your group must meet Chinook's general grant guidelines (see above). Please call the Chinook Fund for more information at 303-455-6905.

Summer 2008: The Reclaim the Vote Initiative is a strategic partnership between Funding Exchange donors, member foundations and the Nonprofit Voter Engagement Network to harness the strength of a social justice infrastructure in engaging disenfranchised communities in voting and other civic activities.  The Chinook Fund has partnered with this initiative to support the pivotal work that organizations like yours are doing in Colorado, around critical issues that have local, statewide and national significance. Please call the Chinook Fund for more information at 303-455-6905 or click here.

Funding Cycles and Proposal Deadlines

Chinook awards grants twice a year. Deadlines for proposals are in February and August. After numerous screenings and site visits by our Grantmaking Committee members, grants are dispersed in June and December.

The next grant proposal deadline is: August 21, 2008

Reclaim the Vote grant proposal deadline is: July 18, 2008

Next Chinook Grant Application Workshop

July 21, 2008 from Noon - 2:30 p.m. at the Chinook Fund

If your organization or grantwriter is new or relatively new to Chinook, we strongly recommend attending a Chinook grant application workshop. While we understand small non-profits are usually very busy, we guarantee that this will save you time, effort and money in the long run. This workshop will help you to determine if you are eligible to apply for a Chinook Fund grant, and if so, teach you some basics in writing a successful Chinook application. Because Chinook's guidelines are so different from those of mainstream foundations, please do not expect to learn how to write general grants here! The workshop is free. Bring a brown bag lunch and join us at our office for a hands-on training. We are located at 2418 W. 32nd Ave. in Denver. Please call 303-455-6905 to reserve your seat and to ask any questions.

How to Apply

STEP 1: Download the Funding Guidelines here: Funding Guidelines. Follow the instructions to write your proposal and prepare your proposal package. And call us with any questions you may have!

STEP 2: Download the Grant Application forms here: Grant Application Forms. Forms 1 and 4 are required. Forms 2 and 3 can be replaced with a budget page and financial statement, if you have copies already prepared in another format.

The Chinook Funding Guidelines and Grant Application forms below are in Portable Document Format (PDF). PDFs can be viewed with Adobe Acrobat Reader. This software is free and can be downloaded from their site. If you already have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed, you can view the Funding Guidelines or Grant Application forms by clicking on the links below.

Wolcott Family Foundation

The Wolcott Family Foundation (WOLFF) is a private family foundation. WOLFF focuses its funding in the areas of social change and environmental stewardship, with emphasis on supporting grassroots organizations for which a small grant can make a real difference. It is convinced of the power of small groups to make a significant difference in helping people change their world.
Chinook used to administer WOLFF, but it is now administered by family members. For more information, please see the Wolcott Family Foundation website at www.wolffoundation.org.